Chetan Bhagat’s first book “Five point someone”, a melodrama of 3 friends Hari, Alok and Ryan was a hilarious story and it touched many of the readers irrespective of they belong to any IIT or not. One night @ call center is more related to a common man; call center is just a work place in this story and it could be any work place; it could be your work place. Though I don’t work in a call center, I liked the story and found it very close to me.
The book starts from the author himself making a journey in a train and meeting a beautiful girl. They start talking and later the girl gives a strange offer to the author saying she would tell him an interesting story and he has to promise that he will write his next book based on this story. The author agrees to the pact and there starts the story.
The story is about 6 persons working in a call center, 2 guys, 3 girls and one old man. It peeks into the six individuals’ lives and portrays their problems, attitude towards LIFE and their expectations from life. All of them are not getting what they want out of their lives; everyone is struggling to reach their destiny. And one day they receive a call from GOD and what happens next is worth reading.
The characters:
These 6 characters work in a call center in Gurgaon (Haryana) and they are member of the same team. These 6 form a strategic group and support the processes of an electronics company.
Shyam aka Sam: is the hero and narrator of the story. He has a difficult boss with his top floor empty, he is due for a promotion but not getting and most importantly he looses his love of life; his very own sweet girlfriend Priyanka who is going to get married with someone else.
Priyanka: A young delhi based smart and beautiful girl (few similarities with Neha Cherian of Five Point Someone). She is the heroine of this plot, she was in love with Shyam before they called it off and now she is getting married with a person whom she has seen in a photograph only and not met a single time. She is in impasse to choose between her love and her family’s choice.
Varun Malhotra: They call him Vroom; he is a dude, sets his own rules and trusts in speed, always says “Vroom and slowdown can’t be used in one sentence”. He has many dreams in his heart, all dreams very practical and some may find them a bit strange indeed.
Esha Singh:They call her Eliza, A pretty girl from Chandigarh, want to become a model, trying to get her first modeling offer in Delhi and doing the part time job in a call center in Gurgaon for survival.
Radhika Jha: She is a housewife, struggling to find her own destiny but stuck up between her family and the call center job. Knitting seems to be her favorite time pass though.
Military Uncle: An ex military official working in a call center. It would be better to read the book to know more about him.
A short note on Bhagat’s writing style:
The writing style of author is as simple as it can be and is very similar to what we talk with each other in our daily lives. Minute and subtle observations have worked as catalysts to enhance the beauty of the story. I would recommend anybody to read the book irrespective of the field one is working for, it carries a hidden message for everyone which basically explains the true mantra of living the life to its fullest.
Weak links:
The book ends more like a bollywood movie than a book; however the author has tried to portrait the end as realistic as possible. Secondly not every reader can digest the supernatural concept of “talking to God”, however the author has tackled the theme very well in last few pages of the book. Plus few things like “taking away the call center cab for a drive” is not at all very often seen in any of the call centers in India. If a reader avoids these small weak links, he/she would enjoy the book to its fullest.
At last, once again I would like to say that 95 Rs for this 289 pager is worth spending and you can have around 4 hours of splendid entertainment.
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